Presenting “Sold a Story”

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_09]: Hi, it's Madeline. I'd like to ask for your help with something. We're currently conducting a survey of our audience, and we want to hear from you as a listener of In The Dark. This is one of the best ways for us to learn about what you value as a listener, and it's a chance for you to help shape the future of our podcast. We want to hear from you.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_09]: As a token of our appreciation, you'll be eligible to enter a prize drawing of up to $1,000 after you complete the survey. You can find links to the survey in our episode and show notes. Thanks for listening.

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_09]: Hey, In The Dark listeners, it's Madeline. I'm coming to you today because I wanted to bring you another podcast I think you would really enjoy. It's done by a former colleague of mine, an amazing reporter named Emily Hanford at American Public Media.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_09]: And it's all about how the way that so many children in our country are taught to read is just wrong. This reporting has had a huge impact. It's now changing the way that reading is taught in classrooms across the country.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_09]: The podcast is called Sold a Story, and we're going to play the first episode for you here. Here's the show.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Guide dogs lead very interesting lives. For 10 or 12 years, they are in charge of guiding a blind person.

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_12]: I got this recording from the U.S. Department of Education. They give a reading test every two years to a sample of kids.

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Most guide dogs are born at a kennel.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_12]: This is a fourth grader who did well on the test, reading a passage about guide dogs.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: The dogs train in large groups for about three months.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_12]: But most kids don't do well on this test.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_12]: Dogs are...

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_12]: In fact, a third of fourth graders read so poorly, they sound more like this.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_12]: Judge dogs...

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Read very interesting...

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_12]: This child gets through only a fraction of the passage and can't read several words that are key to understanding what's going on.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_12]: Words like guide and blind.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_12]: About 10 percent.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_12]: One in three kids in fourth grade reads like this.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_12]: How did that happen?

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_12]: I'm Emily Hanford. I'm an education reporter.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_12]: And about five years ago, I started to get really interested in why so many kids are having a hard time learning to read.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_12]: And what I discovered is that in schools all over this country, and in other parts of the world too, kids are not being taught how to read.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_12]: Schools think they're teaching kids to read.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_12]: Of course they do.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_12]: But it turns out there's a big body of scientific research about reading and how kids learn to do it.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_12]: This research shows there are important skills that all kids need to learn to become good readers.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_12]: And in lots of schools, they aren't being taught these skills.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_12]: Over the past few years, I produced a series of radio documentaries and articles about this.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_12]: And the response was like nothing I've ever experienced in my career.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_12]: Thousands of emails and messages and posts on social media.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_12]: And there were basically two kinds of things people were saying.

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_12]: The first was, I know, I know.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_12]: I've been trying to tell people this for years.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_12]: The other response was, I had no idea.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_12]: This is what I heard from lots of teachers.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_12]: They had no idea they weren't teaching kids how to read.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_12]: What I've been trying to figure out is, why?

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_12]: Why didn't they know?

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_12]: Why haven't schools been teaching children how to read?

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_12]: And I have an answer.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_12]: This is Sold a Story, a podcast from APM Reports.

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_12]: I've got a lot to tell you in this podcast.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_12]: But I'm going to tell you the answer to the question right now.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_12]: Kids are not being taught how to read.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_12]: Because for decades, teachers have been sold an idea about reading and how children learn to do it.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_12]: And that idea is wrong.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_12]: The people who have been selling this idea, I don't have any reason to believe they thought it was wrong.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_12]: I think they wanted what I think everyone wants.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_12]: They wanted kids to learn how to read.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_12]: They wanted kids to love reading.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_12]: But they believed so deeply in their idea about how to do that,

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_12]: that they somehow ignored or explained away a whole lot of evidence that showed the idea was wrong.

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_12]: And they went on to make a lot of money.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_12]: In this podcast, we're going to focus on one publishing company and four of its top authors.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_12]: They are not the only ones who've been selling this wrong idea about reading.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_12]: But they've been the most successful at it.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_12]: Chances are you have no idea who this company and these people are,

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_12]: unless you've worked in an elementary school any time in the last 20 years or so.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_12]: Then you probably know exactly who I'm talking about.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_12]: She was like a rock star walking into that building.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_01]: If Beyonce came and gave a private concert in my district,

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: it would not have been a bigger deal for many of my teachers.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_12]: Their books on teaching reading became must-haves for teachers.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_12]: I used to call them my Bibles.

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_12]: Yeah, I kept it as my Bible.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_12]: Everything that I did was based off of their work.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_12]: A generation of teachers believed what these authors and this company were telling them.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_10]: They framed a picture of reading instruction that seemed beautiful, like softly lit rooms.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_10]: Kids were going to have cozy nooks where they were curling up with a good book.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_10]: It got your heart, along with your mind.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_12]: But a key idea in their work had been disproven before some of today's teachers were even born.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_12]: A lot of teachers didn't know that.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_15]: What I'm haunted by is when it wasn't working, I blamed it on children.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_15]: I mean, I feel like I harmed kids, to be honest with you, because I didn't give them what they needed.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_12]: Teachers and parents and policymakers are waking up to the fact that there's a problem.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_01]: We're all following this kind of benighted approach.

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_12]: How did we get into this mess?

[00:06:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Why are we doing it this way?

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_12]: In this podcast, we're going to investigate where this wrong idea about reading came from,

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_12]: how it's harming kids, and why a company and four of its top authors have been able to sell it for so long.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_12]: I've been working on this story with another reporter.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_12]: His name is Christopher Peek.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_12]: We've interviewed more than 125 people.

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_12]: We've requested records from nearly 200 school districts.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_12]: We scoured university archives and libraries as far away as New Zealand.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_12]: We found old videotapes and bought a used VCR so we could watch them.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_12]: We're going to get to that, tell you about the authors and the company and what we learned about them.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_12]: But in this first episode, I'm going to tell you about how kids are being taught

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_12]: in classrooms where this wrong idea about reading has taken root.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_12]: Okay, so we're recording.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, I'm Corinne Adams.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I live in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I have two kids, six and two, boy and a girl.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_12]: Her son is the older one.

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_12]: His name is Charlie.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_12]: When she sent him off to kindergarten in the fall of 2019, Corinne had no concerns.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_12]: One of the reasons she and her husband had moved to South Kingstown is everyone told them the schools were great.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_12]: She had no idea how her son's school was teaching reading.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Who thinks about that?

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know how to teach a child how to read.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_03]: So I just assumed that the children I sent to school would come back to me literate.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Because that's what school does, right?

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_12]: At first, everything seemed fine.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_12]: Charlie would come home with these little books, the same book every day for a week.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_12]: And he'd practice that book and send it back.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_12]: And that's what we did.

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_12]: There were directions for the parents about how to read these books with their children.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_03]: It was like, read the book to the child first.

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_03]: And then, eventually, the child will have practiced it enough that they'll read it and it'll be great, you know?

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_03]: And he would listen to me read it, pay very close attention to what I was saying, repeat that.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_03]: And if it was a new book, mommy, you read it to me first.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_12]: Charlie wasn't interested in trying to read books she hadn't already read to him.

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_12]: New books, like, freaked him out.

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_12]: He didn't want to do that.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_12]: She was a little concerned maybe he was just memorizing the books.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_12]: They were pretty simple stories with predictable patterns.

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_12]: Sentences like, I like to play with a train.

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_12]: I like to play with my dog.

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_12]: Charlie was able to read these books.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_12]: But was he really reading?

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_12]: She wasn't sure.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_12]: But the school said he was doing great.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_03]: They were telling me he was doing fine.

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_03]: They were telling me he was on level.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_03]: When Charlie did well on something in school, the teacher would send home a little note.

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_03]: And he would get them all the time for, like, great reading.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_03]: He would get them in his little backpack and I'd be like, oh, you're doing so great.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_12]: And then, March of 2020, the pandemic.

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_12]: Suddenly, Corinne was in kindergarten too, watching as Charlie and his classmates were being taught over Zoom.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_03]: So we sit together and I participate.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I help him make sure he can unmute himself and all that stuff.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_12]: Corinne's a stay-at-home mom.

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_12]: She wasn't juggling online school with another job.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_12]: So she was watching pretty closely.

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_12]: And the reading instructions seemed kind of odd to her.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_12]: They gave us, like, these strategies to follow.

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_12]: These were things kids were supposed to do when they came to a word they didn't know.

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_12]: Strategies to figure out the word.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_12]: They were things like, look at the picture.

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_12]: Look at the first letter of the word.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_12]: Think of a word that makes sense.

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_12]: Corinne wanted to tell Charlie to sound out the word.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_12]: But handouts coming from school were telling her that wasn't a good idea, that sounding out words should be a last resort.

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_03]: So I was like, okay, well, this is a new, different way and I'm sure they understand what they're doing.

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Because I do remember sounding out.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_03]: I do remember that activity.

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_12]: But Charlie and his classmates were being taught to use these other strategies.

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_02]: We're going to look at our book, Zelda and Ivy, The Runaways.

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER_12]: This is a video Charlie's teacher had her students watch during Zoom school in first grade.

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_12]: It's not Charlie's teacher in the video, but it's a lesson from the curriculum the school district was using.

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to read a little bit of this story to you.

[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And if I get stuck on a word, I want you to try to help me figure out what that word could be.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_12]: The teacher reads the story.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_12]: The kids can see the words on the screen.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_12]: They're following along as she reads.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_12]: And then the teacher comes to a word that she's covered up with a little yellow sticky note.

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so we're going to stop right here on this covered word.

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_03]: And the teacher says, what could this word be?

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's look at the picture.

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_02]: We're going to see if the picture helps us to figure out what that word would be.

[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_12]: The kids can't see the word.

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_12]: It's covered with the sticky note.

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_12]: So there's no way they can sound it out.

[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_12]: They're just trying to figure out what the word could be based on what's going on in the story.

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_02]: If we think about what's happening so far in the story,

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_02]: we know Zelda and Ivy's dad made cucumber sandwiches for lunch.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And Zelda and Ivy didn't want to eat the sandwiches, so they ran away.

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And now they think their mom and dad will...

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_12]: Will what?

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_12]: Do you think that covered word could be the word miss?

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_12]: Ah, miss them.

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Could it be the word miss?

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Because now that they're gone, maybe their parents will miss them?

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_12]: The teacher asks the kids to think about whether miss could be the word,

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_12]: using the strategies they've been taught.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's do our triple check and see.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Does it make sense?

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Does it sound right?

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_02]: How about the last part of our triple check?

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Does it look right?

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's uncover the word and see if it looks right.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_12]: The teacher lifts up the sticky note, and indeed, the word is miss.

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_02]: It looks right too.

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Good job.

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Very good job.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Go ahead and click on the next slide so you can practice this strategy on our next part of our story.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_12]: This seemed weird to Corinne.

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_12]: Why have kids guess the word?

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_12]: Why not have them look at the word and try to actually read it?

[00:13:09] [SPEAKER_03]: And I said to my son's teacher, I was like, this isn't how we learned how to read, like meaning me and her.

[00:13:15] [SPEAKER_03]: And I just kept like nagging at me, like in the back of my mind, like this isn't how we did it right.

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Like this can't be right, right?

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_12]: What made it all weirder is that the kids were actually being taught some things about how to sound out words.

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_12]: The teacher did some phonics lessons.

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_12]: But when it came to reading books, all that instruction seemed to go out the window.

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_12]: The books the kids were supposed to read had all kinds of words with spelling patterns they hadn't been taught.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_03]: So, for example, they were giving him, oh, it was at Christmastime, and it was from the book Chicken Soup with Rice.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_12]: Chicken Soup with Rice is a book by Maurice Sendak that was turned into a song by Carole King.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_12]: Just sip hot chicken soup with rice.

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_12]: I loved this song when I was a kid.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_12]: It goes through every month of the year, January through December.

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_15]: In December I will be a bobbled, bangled Christmas tree.

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_03]: And it's like, in December I will be a bobbled, bangled Christmas tree.

[00:14:20] [SPEAKER_03]: And they wanted him to read that.

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I just was like, how?

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_12]: She knew there was no way Charlie could read bobbled or bangled, or even guess those words by using the pictures.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_12]: It's possible Corinne would have just brushed all this off.

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_12]: Whatever, he'll figure it out.

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_12]: The school says he's doing fine.

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_12]: But she also had to give Charlie a reading assessment at home.

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_12]: Not something a parent would normally be asked to do.

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_12]: But this was COVID.

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_03]: And I wasn't allowed to read it to him first, and I couldn't help him in any way.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_03]: I just, I could point to the words for him, and that was it.

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_03]: He had to read it.

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_03]: She gave him the test.

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_12]: They're sitting in their kitchen.

[00:14:59] [SPEAKER_12]: Charlie's two-year-old sister is playing in the background.

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_12]: And Charlie has to read a book called How Things Move.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_07]: How things move.

[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_12]: This is that reading assessment.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_12]: Corinne recorded it.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_12]: You is my...

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_12]: Here's the sentence Charlie is trying to read.

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_12]: This toy moves when you push it.

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_12]: There's a picture in the book of a girl pushing a truck.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_12]: Charlie is grasping for straws.

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_12]: He has no idea how to read most of the words in this book.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_12]: Some of the words he is saying are not even on the page.

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_03]: It was just like eye-popping.

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_03]: And I went into my bedroom and cried.

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_12]: And then she went to her computer and she started Googling.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_12]: What was this way that her kid was being taught how to read?

[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_12]: And she found some of the articles and documentaries I had written.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_12]: That's when it was like a realization that what is happening?

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh my God, what's happening?

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_12]: She tried talking to some other parents.

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_12]: And they kind of looked at me like I was insane.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_12]: Their kids were doing fine, or so they thought.

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_12]: Because that's what Corinne had thought too.

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_12]: Then she started posting about her experience on Twitter.

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_03]: There were parents who were like, oh my God.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, this is my kid.

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_03]: This is happening to me.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, this is happening to me and I'm in Chicago or I'm in California or I'm in wherever else.

[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_06]: It didn't seem like they were really teaching him to read.

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_06]: This is one of those parents.

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_06]: It seemed like they were teaching him to sound like they could read.

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_12]: I contacted this parent after I saw his posts on Twitter.

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_12]: His name is Lee Gall.

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_12]: He lives in New York City.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_12]: And in the middle of COVID, finally vaccinated,

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_12]: I hopped on a train from D.C. where I live.

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_12]: And I met Lee on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_12]: We're picking Lee's daughter up from school.

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_12]: Her name is Zoe, and she's just about to finish first grade.

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_12]: She goes to the public school that's a few blocks from their apartment.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_12]: The school was using the same reading curriculum that Charlie's school was using.

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_07]: All right, I'm supposed to meet Catherine in the middle circle in Grande Park.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_12]: Oh, so you already got plans. That's good.

[00:17:38] [SPEAKER_12]: It's a gorgeous spring day, and we're on our way to the park around the corner from Zoe's school.

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_12]: The park is full of kids and parents and nannies.

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_12]: The sprinklers are on. The children are running around.

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_12]: We're in one of the richest zip codes in the United States.

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe goes to a school with a great reputation.

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_12]: You'd think she'd be taught how to read.

[00:18:00] [SPEAKER_12]: But that's not what Lee was seeing.

[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_12]: When the pandemic hit, he lost his job.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_12]: So when Zoe was at home doing Zoom school, he was there watching everything, just like Corinne was.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_06]: I would hear her reading, and I would hear the other kids reading.

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_12]: This was the first time we talked.

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_12]: I was at home, and he was at home.

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_12]: And the audio quality isn't very good.

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_06]: They weren't reading.

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_06]: They were doing what the teachers told them, and they were just guessing.

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, there's no two ways about it.

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_06]: They were guessing, and I just thought, like, okay, well, eventually they guessed their way into being able to read, I'm assuming.

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_12]: But it wasn't happening for Zoe.

[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_12]: She didn't seem to be getting it, and she was frustrated.

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_12]: Lee went to the Internet.

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_12]: He came up with the reporting I had done, too.

[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_12]: He followed the footnotes, started reading some of the research himself,

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_12]: and he was shocked, confused, concerned.

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_12]: He tried to talk to the other parents at the park about what was going on with reading instruction at their school.

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_06]: A couple of parents were like, yeah, I know.

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm just so frustrated with it.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_06]: I can't even deal with it.

[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_12]: But for the most part, people responded to him the way they responded to Corinne.

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_06]: It was almost like saying, I saw aliens.

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_06]: I saw the ship, and you have to believe me, right?

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Like, people were like, oh, yeah, okay.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_12]: No one wants to believe their child's school isn't teaching kids how to read.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_12]: And a school with a great reputation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan?

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_12]: Lee says if he hadn't been sitting there watching the instruction,

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_12]: he and his wife probably would have thought there was something wrong with Zoe.

[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_12]: She wasn't learning to read because she had a problem.

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_06]: We probably would be like, okay, what's wrong with her?

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Like, let's get her some help.

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's take her to, you know, counselors and psychologists and hearing experts and seeing experts

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_06]: and figure all this stuff out.

[00:19:58] [SPEAKER_12]: But he didn't think the problem was with Zoe.

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_12]: He didn't think she had a reading disability.

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_12]: The problem was she wasn't being taught how to read.

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_12]: So he decided to teach her himself.

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER_12]: More on that after a break.

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_05]: Hey, podcast listeners.

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm Chris Morocco, food director of Bon Appetit and Epicurious,

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_05]: and host of the Dinner SOS podcast.

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_05]: Every week on Dinner SOS, we help listeners tackle cooking challenges.

[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I cannot manage pork in, like, any fashion.

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_05]: And with all the big cooking holidays coming up,

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_05]: there's a lot of home cooks who need our help.

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_08]: We're doing a Thanksgiving with 15 friends.

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_08]: And the friend with the biggest house is hosting.

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_08]: But unfortunately, that house also has the teeny-tiniest kitchen.

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Christmas morning.

[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_04]: I flipped him over, walked away, and one loaf collapsed onto the floor.

[00:20:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Luckily, I come prepared.

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_05]: With over 50,000 recipes in the Bon Appetit and Epicurious archives.

[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_05]: Plus my incredible co-hosts from the Test Kitchen and beyond.

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_10]: I was almost overexcited about the options that we had.

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_10]: There were so many.

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_05]: I have so many options, too.

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_10]: Okay, great.

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_10]: Nelson, you're in a great place.

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_10]: I love it.

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Listen to and follow Dinner SOS wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_05]: Happy cooking.

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_12]: In the summer of 2021, on an unseasonably cool day for Washington, D.C.,

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_12]: I went to the Georgetown Public Library.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_12]: I'm here to meet one of the children's librarians.

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_12]: Her name is Ruth Fitz.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_12]: She's doing story time for preschoolers outside on a Saturday morning.

[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_13]: Our first book was requested last week.

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_13]: The monster at the end of this book.

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_13]: Starring lovable, furry old rover.

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_13]: Hello!

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_12]: The children are quiet and adorable,

[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_12]: sitting on little carpet squares,

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_12]: wearing colorful masks to keep the virus at bay.

[00:22:12] [SPEAKER_15]: All right, all right, all right.

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_12]: I came here to see Ruth Fitz

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_12]: because I'd been talking to a friend of hers,

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_12]: a former teacher who is now a private reading tutor.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_12]: We were talking about the perception

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_12]: that it's mostly kids from poor families

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_12]: who struggle to learn how to read.

[00:22:29] [SPEAKER_12]: And she said,

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_12]: go talk to Ruth.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_12]: Because she's a librarian

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_12]: in one of the richest neighborhoods in Washington.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_12]: And parents are coming to her all the time

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_12]: and asking,

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_12]: do you have a book I can use

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_12]: to teach my child to read?

[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_14]: I've had so many interactions with highly educated parents

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_14]: who were then told, like,

[00:22:52] [SPEAKER_14]: my child is behind and there's all this guilt

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_14]: and like, what have I not done?

[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_12]: She says there's a big belief out there

[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_12]: that kids just naturally learn to read

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_12]: if their parents read to them enough.

[00:23:04] [SPEAKER_14]: When you ask them,

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_14]: what has the child been learning at school?

[00:23:07] [SPEAKER_14]: A lot of it is just practice reading.

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_14]: No instruction in how to read.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_14]: We're just going to practice

[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_14]: and you're just going to figure it out.

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_12]: Some kids do figure it out.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_12]: They don't need much instruction.

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_12]: But a whole bunch of research

[00:23:26] [SPEAKER_12]: shows this is not actually true for most kids.

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_12]: They need to be taught how to read.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_12]: It doesn't happen naturally

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_12]: through exposure to books.

[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_12]: Ruth says it comes as a shock

[00:23:39] [SPEAKER_12]: to a lot of families

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_12]: when they realize schools

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_12]: aren't teaching their kids how to read.

[00:23:44] [SPEAKER_12]: Suddenly, they realize

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_12]: they have to teach their kids themselves

[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_12]: or hire a tutor,

[00:23:49] [SPEAKER_12]: which she says a lot of them do.

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_12]: But not everyone has the money

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_12]: to hire a tutor

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER_12]: or the time to do the teaching themselves.

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_12]: And what you heard

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_12]: about the way Charlie and Zoe

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_12]: were being taught,

[00:24:02] [SPEAKER_12]: that can actually harm kids.

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_12]: Those word reading strategies

[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_12]: can create bad habits

[00:24:08] [SPEAKER_12]: that are really hard to break.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_11]: He doesn't look at all the letters and words.

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_11]: He doesn't look at all the words and sentences.

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_11]: And reading is miserable for him.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_12]: This is Kenny Alden.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_12]: She lives in California.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_12]: She was in her car when we talked,

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_12]: waiting for her kids

[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_12]: who were at soccer practice.

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_12]: She has two boys

[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_12]: who were 12 and 14 at the time.

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_12]: It's her younger one

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_12]: she's worried about.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_11]: He omits words.

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_11]: He adds words.

[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_11]: He'll substitute a word

[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_11]: that makes sense in the context

[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_11]: that has a few of the same letters

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_11]: as the actual word

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_11]: and just cruise right on.

[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_12]: She gives an example.

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_12]: He was reading out loud

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_12]: and the word was irrepressible.

[00:24:54] [SPEAKER_12]: But he said irresponsible.

[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_11]: And I've got so many examples like that.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_11]: Just the other day,

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_11]: the word was misguided

[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_11]: and he said misjudged.

[00:25:03] [SPEAKER_11]: He said effective

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_11]: when it says efficient.

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_11]: I could give examples

[00:25:09] [SPEAKER_11]: from now until forever.

[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_12]: These kinds of mistakes

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_12]: can really get in the way

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_12]: when it comes to understanding

[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_12]: what you read.

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_12]: A middle school teacher

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_12]: gave me the example

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER_12]: of a kid who thought

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_12]: that in 1939,

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_12]: Poland invited the Germans

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_12]: into their country.

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_12]: That's a lot different

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_12]: from what really happened.

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_12]: The Germans invaded Poland.

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_11]: What's going on with my son

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_11]: is that he was made

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_11]: to feel successful

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_11]: by not looking at all the letters

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_11]: and the words.

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_11]: He learned those strategies.

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_12]: Things like,

[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_12]: look at the first letter.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_12]: Use the picture.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_12]: Think of a word that makes sense.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_12]: That's what he was taught

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_12]: and that's what he did.

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_11]: And so that habit

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_11]: of not looking at the words

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER_11]: just continued on.

[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_11]: He got farther and farther

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_11]: behind as a reader

[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_11]: and writer

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_11]: and he kept doing

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_11]: the same thing

[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_11]: until we are

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_11]: where we are now.

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_12]: He's a kid

[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_12]: who doesn't like reading

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_12]: and doesn't like school.

[00:26:14] [SPEAKER_12]: He's not failing.

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_12]: Kenny says he does okay.

[00:26:17] [SPEAKER_12]: His test scores

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_12]: are actually pretty good.

[00:26:20] [SPEAKER_12]: But he can't spell.

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_12]: He does everything

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_12]: in his power

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_12]: to avoid reading

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_12]: and writing.

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_12]: The idea of him

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_12]: going to high school

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_12]: makes Kenny really anxious.

[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_12]: As we're talking,

[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_12]: she's looking out

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_12]: the window of her car

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_12]: toward the field

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_12]: where her kids

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_12]: are playing soccer.

[00:26:37] [SPEAKER_12]: She's full of regret

[00:26:38] [SPEAKER_12]: because she knew

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_12]: something was wrong

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_12]: when her son was little.

[00:26:43] [SPEAKER_12]: She knew.

[00:26:45] [SPEAKER_11]: I always knew

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_11]: it was a problem

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_11]: and maybe there was

[00:26:47] [SPEAKER_11]: a time when I should

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_11]: have just stopped

[00:26:49] [SPEAKER_11]: everything.

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER_11]: Just,

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_11]: I don't know,

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_11]: taken a leave of absence

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_11]: from work or something

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_11]: and just fixed it.

[00:26:56] [SPEAKER_11]: But I didn't.

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_12]: She and her son's

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_12]: other mom

[00:27:00] [SPEAKER_12]: thought about sending him

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_12]: to a different school.

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_12]: But all the public schools

[00:27:04] [SPEAKER_12]: where they live

[00:27:05] [SPEAKER_12]: in Berkeley, California

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_12]: taught reading

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_12]: the same way.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_12]: There was no

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_12]: getting away from it.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_12]: She was just kind of

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_12]: hoping it would

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER_12]: all work out.

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_12]: And it didn't.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_12]: He stuck with the strategies

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_12]: he was taught

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER_12]: and he never learned

[00:27:19] [SPEAKER_12]: how to read very well.

[00:27:25] [SPEAKER_06]: So Zoe,

[00:27:25] [SPEAKER_06]: why don't you come over here

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_06]: for a second?

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's look at the

[00:27:28] [SPEAKER_06]: S-I-O-N stuff

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_06]: that we did before.

[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_12]: I'm back with Lee and Zoe

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_12]: on the Upper East Side

[00:27:32] [SPEAKER_12]: of Manhattan.

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_12]: Lee is showing me

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_12]: some of the materials

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_12]: he used to teach

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe how to read.

[00:27:38] [SPEAKER_06]: So this is

[00:27:40] [SPEAKER_06]: S-I-O-N

[00:27:40] [SPEAKER_06]: and we did

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_06]: T-I-O-N before.

[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_06]: So,

[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_06]: look at this word.

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_06]: What is this word?

[00:27:47] [SPEAKER_07]: Um,

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_07]: addition?

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah,

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_06]: that's right.

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_06]: Um,

[00:27:52] [SPEAKER_06]: what is this word?

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_12]: We're in their apartment.

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_12]: It's a tiny one-bedroom.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_12]: When Lee decided

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_12]: he was going to teach

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe to read,

[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_12]: he scoured the internet

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_12]: for resources,

[00:28:02] [SPEAKER_12]: taught her some things

[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_12]: about how to sound out words,

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_12]: and got what are known

[00:28:06] [SPEAKER_12]: as decodable books.

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_06]: Do you remember

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_06]: what it felt like

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_06]: the first time we read

[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_06]: a decodable book?

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah,

[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_07]: it was kind of hard.

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.

[00:28:18] [SPEAKER_12]: A decodable

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_12]: is a book with words

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_12]: that have spelling patterns

[00:28:21] [SPEAKER_12]: a child has been taught.

[00:28:23] [SPEAKER_12]: So she can try

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_12]: to read the words.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_12]: She doesn't have

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_12]: to guess them.

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_06]: And we started

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_06]: reading that book.

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_06]: I said,

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_06]: hey,

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_06]: I have a decodable book.

[00:28:32] [SPEAKER_06]: I want you to read it.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's try and reading it.

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_06]: And you're like,

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_06]: okay, okay.

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_06]: And we started reading it

[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_06]: and I had to stop you

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_06]: after 54 pages

[00:28:40] [SPEAKER_06]: because you read

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_06]: 54 pages of it.

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER_06]: Do you remember that?

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah.

[00:28:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_06]: I think both of us

[00:28:47] [SPEAKER_06]: were kind of blown away,

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_06]: right?

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_06]: It was like the bear.

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.

[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_06]: It was so fun

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_06]: to read it,

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_06]: wasn't it?

[00:28:55] [SPEAKER_12]: Yeah.

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.

[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_12]: Do you have any books

[00:28:58] [SPEAKER_12]: you can read to me now?

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_12]: What are you reading?

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_07]: I'm reading

[00:29:03] [SPEAKER_07]: the zombie diaries.

[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_07]: They're really fun.

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_12]: Will you read a little bit to me?

[00:29:08] [SPEAKER_12]: How do you feel about that?

[00:29:09] [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah.

[00:29:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Do you want to go grab it

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_06]: really quick?

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_12]: Yeah.

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER_06]: Okay.

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER_12]: Stay.

[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_06]: I'll stay here.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm just getting up

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_06]: so you can get by.

[00:29:18] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe scooches past her dad

[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_12]: across their apartment

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_12]: to her bedroom

[00:29:21] [SPEAKER_12]: and then she's back

[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_12]: with her book.

[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_07]: This is book one

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_07]: and book two.

[00:29:26] [SPEAKER_12]: And she starts reading.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_07]: I decided to walk

[00:29:32] [SPEAKER_07]: Skelly to school today.

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_07]: One thing about Skelly

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_07]: is that she really,

[00:29:40] [SPEAKER_07]: wait, Skelly?

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_07]: Whatever.

[00:29:42] [SPEAKER_07]: Okay.

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_07]: Really likes to talk.

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe is still learning,

[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_12]: but at the end of first grade,

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_12]: she's clearly on her way

[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_12]: to becoming a good reader.

[00:29:54] [SPEAKER_12]: Kids who are not on this path

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_12]: by the end of first grade

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_12]: rarely catch up.

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_12]: And that's because of this thing

[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_12]: that's been dubbed

[00:30:02] [SPEAKER_12]: the Matthew effect.

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_12]: It's a biblical reference.

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_12]: Basically,

[00:30:06] [SPEAKER_12]: when it comes to reading,

[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_12]: the rich get richer.

[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_12]: If you get off to a good start,

[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_12]: you tend to like reading more.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_12]: You tend to do it more.

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_12]: And the more you read,

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_12]: the better you get at reading.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_12]: But the opposite can happen.

[00:30:20] [SPEAKER_12]: You don't get off to a good start.

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_12]: Reading is confusing

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_12]: and frustrating,

[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_12]: and you don't really like it.

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe didn't get off

[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_12]: to a good start with reading.

[00:30:29] [SPEAKER_12]: And then her dad swooped in

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_12]: and changed that.

[00:30:34] [SPEAKER_07]: Squide.

[00:30:35] [SPEAKER_07]: Squid.

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER_07]: Squid.

[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_12]: Zoe was lucky,

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_12]: and Charlie was too,

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_12]: because his mom Corinne

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER_12]: did exactly what Lee did.

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_12]: After that disastrous

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_12]: reading assessment,

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_12]: when she realized Charlie

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_12]: had no idea

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_12]: how to read the words,

[00:30:57] [SPEAKER_12]: she decided to teach him herself.

[00:30:59] [SPEAKER_12]: She went to the internet,

[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_12]: she bought books,

[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_12]: and he learned pretty easily.

[00:31:04] [SPEAKER_12]: Which tells you

[00:31:06] [SPEAKER_12]: that Charlie wasn't struggling

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_12]: because he has

[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_12]: a reading disability.

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_12]: He was struggling

[00:31:11] [SPEAKER_12]: because he wasn't being taught.

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_12]: Just like Zoe.

[00:31:17] [SPEAKER_06]: I shudder to think

[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_06]: what would be

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER_06]: if I hadn't been home

[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_06]: all this time

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_06]: and seeing it,

[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_06]: you know?

[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_12]: It's possible Zoe

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_12]: would have been fine,

[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_12]: and Charlie too,

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_12]: if their parents

[00:31:27] [SPEAKER_12]: hadn't intervened.

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_12]: Some kids do eventually

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_12]: put it all together.

[00:31:31] [SPEAKER_12]: They don't need

[00:31:31] [SPEAKER_12]: much instruction.

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_12]: But 65% of fourth graders

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_12]: in this country

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_12]: are not proficient readers,

[00:31:38] [SPEAKER_12]: according to that test

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_12]: I told you about

[00:31:40] [SPEAKER_12]: at the beginning

[00:31:41] [SPEAKER_12]: of the episode.

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_12]: Scores on that test

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_12]: have been terrible

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_12]: for decades.

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_12]: And the problem

[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_12]: is even worse

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_12]: when you look

[00:31:49] [SPEAKER_12]: beyond the average

[00:31:49] [SPEAKER_12]: and focus on specific

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_12]: groups of children.

[00:31:52] [SPEAKER_12]: The most alarming statistic?

[00:31:55] [SPEAKER_12]: 82% of black

[00:31:57] [SPEAKER_12]: fourth graders

[00:31:58] [SPEAKER_12]: are not proficient readers.

[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_12]: That's more than

[00:32:01] [SPEAKER_12]: 8 in 10

[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_12]: black children.

[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_03]: I think a lot of people

[00:32:04] [SPEAKER_03]: just expect

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_03]: that some kids

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_03]: will never read.

[00:32:07] [SPEAKER_12]: What Corinne Adams

[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_12]: just said,

[00:32:09] [SPEAKER_12]: lots of people

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_12]: have said this to me.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_12]: Reading scores

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_12]: have been so low

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_12]: for so long

[00:32:15] [SPEAKER_12]: that many people

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_12]: have come to accept

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_12]: that this is just

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER_12]: the way things are.

[00:32:20] [SPEAKER_12]: Not something

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_12]: schools can do much about.

[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_12]: Corinne Adams

[00:32:25] [SPEAKER_12]: says what she's learned

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_12]: over the past

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_12]: couple of years

[00:32:28] [SPEAKER_12]: is that if you want

[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_12]: to make sure

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_12]: your children

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_12]: can read,

[00:32:31] [SPEAKER_12]: you should teach

[00:32:32] [SPEAKER_12]: them yourself.

[00:32:33] [SPEAKER_03]: That's like such

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_03]: a messed up way

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_03]: to have a public

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_03]: school system

[00:32:36] [SPEAKER_03]: in this country.

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Public schools

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_03]: should be like

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_03]: this sacred trust.

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to give

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_03]: you my child

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_03]: and you're going

[00:32:42] [SPEAKER_03]: to teach him

[00:32:42] [SPEAKER_03]: how to read.

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And that shattered

[00:32:44] [SPEAKER_03]: for me.

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_03]: That was broken.

[00:32:47] [SPEAKER_12]: She drafted

[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_12]: an email about all

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_12]: this to the principal

[00:32:50] [SPEAKER_12]: of her son's school.

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_12]: But she didn't

[00:32:52] [SPEAKER_12]: end up sending it

[00:32:53] [SPEAKER_12]: because she likes

[00:32:55] [SPEAKER_12]: the school.

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_12]: She likes

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_12]: the teachers.

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_12]: She doesn't want

[00:32:58] [SPEAKER_12]: to be the problem

[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_12]: parent telling them

[00:33:00] [SPEAKER_12]: they're doing

[00:33:00] [SPEAKER_12]: something wrong.

[00:33:01] [SPEAKER_12]: And she doesn't

[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_12]: really think

[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_12]: this is their fault.

[00:33:04] [SPEAKER_12]: Like, I really

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_12]: don't blame teachers.

[00:33:10] [SPEAKER_12]: Teachers all

[00:33:11] [SPEAKER_12]: over this country

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_12]: think they're

[00:33:13] [SPEAKER_12]: doing the right thing.

[00:33:14] [SPEAKER_12]: They're teaching

[00:33:15] [SPEAKER_12]: reading the way

[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_12]: their curriculum

[00:33:17] [SPEAKER_12]: and materials

[00:33:18] [SPEAKER_12]: tell them to.

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_12]: And the people

[00:33:20] [SPEAKER_12]: who are selling

[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_12]: those materials

[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_12]: are trusted,

[00:33:23] [SPEAKER_12]: revered,

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_12]: considered the

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER_12]: nation's top

[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_12]: experts when it

[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_12]: comes to teaching

[00:33:28] [SPEAKER_12]: reading.

[00:33:29] [SPEAKER_12]: Not everything

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_12]: those experts

[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_12]: are promoting

[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_12]: is wrong.

[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_12]: But something

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_12]: is.

[00:33:34] [SPEAKER_12]: One really

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_12]: important idea

[00:33:36] [SPEAKER_12]: about how kids

[00:33:38] [SPEAKER_12]: learn to read.

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_12]: In the next episode,

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_12]: I'm going to tell

[00:33:41] [SPEAKER_12]: you about this idea,

[00:33:42] [SPEAKER_12]: where it came from,

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER_12]: and what's wrong

[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_12]: with it.

[00:33:47] [SPEAKER_09]: You can hear

[00:33:47] [SPEAKER_09]: the rest of the

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_09]: series right now.

[00:33:49] [SPEAKER_09]: Just open up

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_09]: your podcast app

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_09]: and search for

[00:33:52] [SPEAKER_09]: Sold a Story

[00:33:53] [SPEAKER_09]: or visit

[00:33:54] [SPEAKER_09]: soldastory.org.